Sleep
by iread
Summary: The beginning in a short series of drabbles.
1. 3 AM

A/N: This is the first ANYTHING, except for like 3 whole reviews, that I've posted. So far it's gotten a positive response. Thanks to those of you that reviewed. You have noooo idea how much that meant to me. Now I know why all the stories posted have the "Thanks" at the beginning. I'm starting to feel like this impossible dream, never-gonna-happen thing called my writing may not be so impossible and may in fact happen. Again, if you don't like it…..TELL ME. I want to hear the 'it sucks' and 'you suck', as long as you tell me why it or I suck. Tell me I misspelled cheese in the last paragraph and I forgot a period. Tell me that my writing could use so-and-so or whatever. I WANT your opinion. Please.

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own One Tree Hill or any of that other good stuff associated with it. Especially not James Lafferty.

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Sleep: 3 A.M.

I thought about all the girls I'd had been with before her.

They were nothing.

There had been a few but they didn't even come close to Haley. I mean even a simple kiss from her changed everything for me.

I look at her as she lies beside me. She sleeps like a dead person. I've told her that before.

She had been nervous. I had expected that. I also expected her to say what she had right before. She had looked me straight in the eye and said, "This doesn't mean I'm not scared. But I'm going to have to get over it. Obviously." I'm sure she meant that as a joke, but I didn't give her time enough to laugh. In that moment I _had_ to kiss her. It was what had pulled me in. Her straight forward, take no bull attitude. She didn't care who you were or what you did. She told you what she thought. I believe her words were something along the lines of 'math don't care, and neither do I'.

I felt her reach out under the covers. Her hand hit my stomach and she inched closer. It reminded me of all of those times I knocked on her window at 3 A.M. After the parties settled down and even after I stopped Tim from throwing them I would go over. I would reach for her, realize she wasn't there, wake up and not be able to get back to sleep. I would toss and turn until I gave up and went to her house.

I remember the first time I had done it. She had been so mad. She had gone on and on about how I could have broken my neck trying to get to her window. How if her parents caught us we would be dead. Twenty minutes later she was in my arms dead asleep. I eventually fell asleep. It took a while because I felt like I couldn't let the opportunity pass; being in the same bed as her and not taking the time to soak her sleeping form in.

It happened the same every time. I would knock and she would simply throw off the blankets and slump over to the window. I would climb in, no 'hello' or kiss (she had refused, citing bad breath), close the window and follow her to bed. Sleep would come so easily for me after that-almost instantly. As soon as I saw her through the window a sort of calmness would sweep over me. I'd like to think it was the same for her. The way we just fell into bed together; like it had always been that way. It _still_ feels that way.

She kept her distance. Always within reach but hesitant until I pulled her close. Like now; aside from her curled up fist against my lower stomach we weren't touching. My right arm was pretty close. It lay just above her head. I couldn't resist stroking her hair, not that she noticed or even cared. She had the softest hair I'd ever felt. The softest skin. The softest lips. The softest everything.

If I didn't have the urge to watch her sleep as strongly as I did, she would have been in my arms a long time ago. It's still so weird to me how I can't seem to get enough of her. When I was with Peyton it seemed like I could spend a couple of hours with her and I was okay if I didn't see her for two or three days. But with Haley…sometimes it's like I can't go a few hours without hearing her voice.

She tilted her head to one side before relaxing back into the pillow. I leaned closer, placing a kiss on her forehead. She's slept through all the other kisses so far. I lift my left arm off of the bed to run it through her hair. I move closer and kiss her again, this time full on the lips.

She let's out a sound I can already tell I'm going to love. She opens her eyes slowly, almost painfully so.

"Hi."

Nothing. Her eyes closed almost as soon as I said it.


	2. Games

A/N: I recently found out what a 'drabble' is. Or at least I think I did. Anyway, I realized that while I may never finish a story I can always post up what little I have written, title it a drabble and get rid of my hard copy which is just taking up what precious little cabinet space I have. And with the time this new night job allows me…with access to Microsoft word I figured now's a good a time as any. So here goes….

"Haley, five more minutes." Nathan whispered, his voice thick with sleep.

From her position under the comforter, snuggled deep inside of her make-shift cave of comfort, Haley replied, "My parents are going to wake up soon. I don't want to risk it. We've gotten really sloppy lately." She had been trying to get him out of bed, unsuccessfully, for some time.

She wasn't being very stern in her attempts to rouse him. Opting instead to add more body parts to their entanglement. _Mmm, he smells so good. Like laundry…and maybe Zest or something like that. Although I am quite biased, I mean maybe he doesn't smell that good. They say love is blind, maybe its also anosmiatic. _His hands didn't leave her much time to follow that train of thought.

Nathan let his hands lull her into a more docile state before answering, "How about I just hide in your closet until they leave. We could skip first period." Haley wasn't sure whether or not he was serious. Regardless, her answer was a resounding 'No.' "Under the bed," he tried, poking his head under the comforter offering a lopsided, questioning grin. Her response was unwaveringly the same.

"Alright, I didn't want to but heck…the bathtub."

"Nathaa-aan." Haley dragged out, breathing against his chest. She swore she felt him shudder.

"Mmm…O.K. Do I at least get a kiss good-bye?" He wrestled to disentangle the knot they'd become and lower himself to level their faces. She opened her eyes to find herself looking straight into his eyes. Those indescribable eyes that looked right into her.

"Think you can manage to not vomit for a peck? No tongue, I promise." He continued, with that shit eating grin of his.

Haley trailed her fingers from his naval to his lips. She gave him her best put and said, "How 'bout you leave now…," she lowered her voice, "and I'll –" "Don't say it." He groaned. "-I'll kiss you later." She continued as if the interruption never occurred. She tried to hold in her laughter as he rolled away from her. Nathan feigned hurt as he clutched at his chest. "Ouch…oh. That hurt."

The scene played out as it usually did. Every morning was a variation of the same thing. Only today _was_ a little different. _I'll let him go only so far before I tell him. _Rolling slowly away from her to the edge of the bed, he mumbled something about unfairness and an inability to ever sleep in.

Haley pulled the covers slightly below her eyes. _Never in a million years. If anyone had told me 3 months ago that the punk who had made my best friends life a living hell would soon be the guy begging for 5 more minutes in my bed, I would have told you to lay off the crack. _ She continued to ogle and let her thoughts wander.

Sitting at the edge of her bed facing the window he had snuck through, he struggled sluggishly, reluctantly, to get his khaki shorts up to his knees. _Love his jalapeno boxers. So glad he's not a tighty-whitey kind of guy._ Nathan sighed in sleepy frustration and turned to look at her. He saw her smile and didn't bother to ask why she smiled. He only matched her smile and turned to continue his fruitless endeavor of trying to dress himself.

He gave up on his shorts halfway through the process and leaned over to rummage for his undershirt. _Could have sworn I threw it down here somewhere…_

"Nathan." He twisted to meet her eyes. She wanted to laugh when she saw his shorts had somehow slipped lower. He rubbed the back of his head, the question evident in his gaze. She smiled, thinking how she wouldn't like a well-groomed guy as much if they all made bed head look as good as Nathan did.

"Yeah?" He said as he let himself fall back to rest on Haley's legs. "Can I tell you something?" She let the question hang in the air shortly, continuing with, "My parents are in Boston." He rose up to stare at her incredulously.

She saw his eyes flash. Giggling, she burrowed further into the center of the bed; burrowed deeper for safety. She was pulling her legs to her chest as Nathan simultaneously reached for her. His hand circled her ankle. "Oh jeez! No!" She squealed. Nathan, under different circumstances, would have stopped once she cried out, but as she had just told him about her lack of parental supervision, he continued.

"SO! You got me out of bed at 6:30; pulled out of a deep & comfortable slumber!" He rumbled, trailed off. He pulled at her ankle and while tossing back the covers. She was making little, if any, effort to escape her fate. Nathan looked down at her laughter induced red face, and couldn't help smiling. "Revenge shall be mine!" He bellowed. He positioned himself above her and proceeded to wedge his face into her neck and blow raspberries, and his hands were performing a thorough assault on her sides. Shaking her head would change nothing. "No? Should I…Do you want me to stop?" In between his bouts of tickling she managed to nod her head in the affirmative. This only caused a maniacal cackle to bubble forth on his part.

There was no time for a reaction when he lifted her into a fireman's lift and made his way to the foot of the bed. "Don't! Don't, please, don't throw me!" His t-shirt muffled her plea. "Hmm, that sounds familiar. Actually it sounds a little like me, fifteen minutes ago. Begging 'someone' not to throw me out of bed." Nathan's laughter came through halfway through his comment. She suffered only a while longer before eventually his need for a kiss overtook his playfulness.

He made sure to lower her in a way that caused as much friction between their bodies as possible. Another little form of torture and revenge. hands made their way onto her hips; pulling her flush against him. His face made its way back to her neck. Only this time there was no laughter, just the sound of her breath escaping in a low hiss as his tongue made contact with her collarbone.

They had the entire day for that. _What's this girl done to me? I'm willing to stop a make out session before it even starts, just to see if she'll say something. I'm not sure I get why I'm always wanting to know what thoughts are going on behind those bright, ever-changing eyes of hers. Different. She's so different._


	3. Play To Win

**A/N: Well I wish I could say this was well researched but it totally wasn't. I started this a while back during one of my night shifts so I really couldn't go back to the episode and make it correlate very well. But I tried my best and again I'm tired of having the papers this short is written on laying around. So here it is. CHAPTER 3 or whatever. Thanks for the reviews! Lol like there's sooo many of them. Oh well it's not like I deserve them. Read and enjoy. Until next time! Believe me there's tons of other crap written in countless notebooks just waiting for me to type them out!**

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We're playing the Pickerington Pirates. This really shouldn't even be considered a game. It's an embarrassment. I dribble and try to ignore the sweat in my eyes. _Where's your open man, Nate? _Dan may not have been there physically but he was certainly there vocally, if only in Nathan's head.

Luke is open; forget that. I'll do it myself. First I have to get rid of this double team. Jake is in the perimeter guarding and holding his position. I can use him as a screen. He catches my signal and I race to get around him. He's effective and now I'm free to rush into the paint and score.

I soak up the moment and the praise from the crowd as they inbound the ball. I take a moment to look up into the stands, hoping she saw it. Sitting next to Mouth, she's smiling and clapping. She did see…I can't help the smile or the rush of adrenaline. _Concentrate on the game, Nate! _ Lost my head for a second. Like I care if she saw.

I'm putting up numbers, that's it. There are no scouts here. For shit's sake, Dan's not even here. They are just points for my records, a right to brag. For me. Maybe for my dad, too. Not for a smart, sometimes smart-ass, doe-eyed brunette who may or may not be looking up from some obscure magazine in the stands. I mean, she barely even responded to 'the nod'. Seriously, why do I even try?

One of the hicks is taking advantage of my wandering mind and going for a breakaway. Well I refuse to give it to him! I push in front of him and set up. _Set your feet, Nate. Draw the foul!_ He comes right at me. A whistle is blown and he gets called for a charge. I resist the urge to pump my fist, mostly because I'm sure I'll get a technical for unsportsmanlike conduct or something. The teams set up and Billy Bob steps to the line. I smirk and pick at his supposed skill. He makes the first one despite it. He misses the second one and we all race for the rebound. They have Sasquatch on their team and they get it.

These guys are so bad that the ball makes it back into our hands faster than you can say hillbillies. Tim's resetting the offense. It's Tim. I take my position and it isn't long before the ball is in my hands. I try to push my way inside and a good crossover makes it that much easier. I see one of the hicks waiting for me to charge him. I wipe the smug look of his face with a no look pass to a blue and white jersey to my left.

_Oh come on, Nate! You just gave away a perfectly good shot!_ And to Luke of all people. I'll make sure he hears it for a while if he misses the shot.

He doesn't. But he does shoot a smile towards the cheerleaders. The he looks up into the stands and smiles at an applauding, shrieking Haley. I roll my eyes and I can't even hide the disgusted grunt that bubbles out of me. It's not like I did it out of jealousy. I mean there's nothing between them…right?

Even if there was, it's not like I would care. I don't care. I just don't think that's fair or right, on both ends. Why does she get so hyped for him anyway? She was his second look. Not that it means anything that she's my first look.

FUCK!

Concentrate. Concentrate. The game. One of the molesters of sheep makes a sloppy pass. I let him know it was the easiest steal of my life as I run to the opposite side of the court. It's a fast break and I sprint towards the goal. No! Slow it down…slow. I set up behind the 3 point line to show off my range and up my numbers. Their defense shows up so I fake and jump back to shoot. You can't watch JJ in anything and not take some notes. I hear the crowd fade as his voice takes over in my head. _Take it to the hole! Big players make big plays! _What an asshole. Wish I could keep the crowd and have his voice fade away. "Wooo! 23!"

A new voice. I feel soothed as I run backwards. No. Got to keep an eye on where everyone in a jersey is located. I would look; try to find the person, but I know who it is. I know it as soon as I hear it. Felt it, even. As I pass her, I lose my cool and smile up at her. But she's moved on and she's talking to that loser from the Rivercourt. Stupid! Shouldn't have even looked up. Ugh whatever…Just concentrate, Nate.

Defense. Don't reach in! Patience, just stay with him. I can't force it so I slow down. Too late. I hear the whistle. Shit!!

"Oh, come on ref! Are ya blind?"

I look up into the stands smiling. The dumbest, goofiest grin you could possibly think of, right here on my face. Who cares about the call?! She's there, on her feet. I see her throw her hands in the air, looking irritated. I dial back on my nerdiness in time and manage a normal smile by the time she looks over to me. It's enough to make her head go down and a blush flare up. I no longer care that Whitey's pulled me out of the game. I mean what is 3 minutes after seeing Haley James both defend you and blush for you?

_Nod. Apologize. Get your minutes! _ I do what the voice says. I throw my best apologetic faces at Whitey. And I think it worked because it doesn't take long before I'm back in the game. I could have sworn that for a second I saw sympathy in coach's eyes.

I feel re-energized. I practically lunge back to the court. As soon as I get back into the game, defense is thick and pushing at me hard. Who can get it in? I can't and that's admitting a lot. Zach? No, he's too far away and his 3 is for shit. Tim? I shouldn't have even considered him. Luke? It's going to have to be Luke. I push and swivel until I'm rushing the basket. I throw him a no-look pass. He seems a little shocked but shoots anyway. SHIT. He misses and I want to explode at him. The rebound makes it and I feel my anger die a bit. Besides, the smile on her face after the pass made it a little worth it.

_Your points! Assists are for the weak. _What the heck does that even mean? Ignoring him seems like something I'll never be able to do. Oh crap, pay attention! Watch number 24…he's running hard. I'm too slow, too late. He jumps up and so do I. I don't jump high enough though and he scores on me. Ok. One. One basket. Two points. It's nothing, doesn't matter. A drop in the ocean, ha. That's a good one.

The ball is getting inbound and I put myself back into the game. I want that ball. And I get it. I'm dribbling waiting to decide my next move. I hear her throw out a confusing "Go Scott!" I scoff at that, and refuse to even acknowledge her or her cheer. Yeah, play us both. Wish I had my own name…Oh wait! I do! Anger…wow that's a little surprising considering how happy I was with her just minutes ago. Happy? No I was just…ok with her. Not particularly joyous. Whatever. I'll show her. I let the anger take me and boil over as I attack the basket. I feel the air rushing around me as I rage into a two handed dunk. I want the rim to shake like I'm shaking. And it does. I don't think jealousy suits me, but it has its perks during a game I guess.

Jealousy? Stupid, stupid. "Woooo! Go Nathan!" And just as easily as it came, the anger is gone. Why can't I shake it off? Why can't I shake her off? A second ago I didn't even want to look at her. Now? A little praise from a girl I hardly know and she's instantly forgiven. Like a fool I'm grinning while running to keep up with a blundering moron who couldn't get open if he was being covered by a blind amputee.

I'm thinking of how maybe it's ok that she was cheering for both of us because at least I'm included when it happens. I saw an opening but I mess it up and there's the foul. I see her reaction out of the corner of my eye. So does Pucas. He glares, does that squinting thing he's so fond of.

Apparently she's only allowed to pine, cheer, mope, _breathe, _for him. There's that anger again. I feel it as it takes over. It makes my mouth form stupid words…"Haley's looking pretty hot."

Oh, hell. Well, Nate, you don't ever go at anything half-way. Might as well finish this…


End file.
